white male consumer

In an effort to make a ‘motoring’ category worthwhile, I decided to add another post to it.

Background

How did I come to own a Honda Accord? A few months ago, when I was in Germany, I learned that my mother had “something to tell me”. I had no idea what this was, but soon found out – my grandfather was finally giving up driving, and wanted to pass his car onto me. I was expecting this, since I’m the “chosen grandson” for some reason. A few years ago, I would have been ecstatic. However at this point in time, I was about to order a new MINI Cooper, so this threw a wrench into my plans. Regardless, I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in its mouth.

It’s a 2000 Honda Accord Special Edition, gold, with less than ten thousand miles on the clock (when we collected it). It’s an automatic, and the special edition model means the 2.3L 4-cylinder, an uprated interior with splashes of wood, and other trivialities, like heated mirrors.

The First Thousand Miles

The odometer hit 10,000 on a trip to Ithaca last week, and I’ve put nearly a thousand miles on it in the two weeks that I’ve been home (coming back from NYC and a roundtrip to Ithaca helped). My first impressions? I could live with the thing.

Handling-wise, I must admit it is better than my last car, a 1986 Saab 9000 turbo. Of course, this is to be expected, and not very fair for the 19-y/o Saab. The Honda has a supple ride and it goes over rough patches easily. Quite smooth, yet it is also remarkably flat in the corners. I have yet to really test its ‘tossability’, but am hesitant since it doesn’t initially feel that nimble (it’s also a decent-sized vehicle, another thing that stops me from pushing it).

Taking it to its limits produces a plowing feeling; surely it would eventually understeer like a mofo, but it doggedly resists.

The steering itself is fairly vague, rubbery and imprecise. In this sense, it’s not nearly as engaging as my previous two Saabs, or my father’s current Subaru. The amount of input that you get from the steering and pedals is pretty limited, to be expected from a mid-sized sedan not marketed or designed as a “driver’s car”.

The 2.3L inline four is rated for an HP number somewhere in the “blah” range for a car of this size (160-ish? Haven’t checked). But the automatic is definitely the limiting factor here. Although I must admit it’s one of the smoother automatics I’ve driven. You be smooth with it, it rewards you. Power delivery is very linear. Especially when compared to my 9000 turbo, which had pretty substantial turbo lag (but really hauled after 3.5k-4k RPM). At the end of the day, the Accord is slower than the 9000 turbo, and certainly feels it according to the butt dyno. But the actual difference is pretty inconsequential – it is definitely speedy enough for everyday driving. Passing is done with ease. As the engine winds out, sound increases, but is never very loud (or sexy for that matter). The powerplant runs out of breath a bit at the upper RPM range, nothing serious or too bothersome.

The interior brings new meaning to the word spartan, even taking into consideration the wood and chrome bits. It’s a drab, mundane tan color, which matches the drab, mundane gold exterior. Cloth seats, which are pretty uncomfortable on long trips. The various gauges all switch and flip perfectly – the layout of the dash is simple and nice.

Ultimately

The trunk is massive, we brought home some kitchen cabinets the other day. Ultimately, it’s a perfectly decent vehicle. However, it is a bit too much basic transportation and not enough performance for my liking. It’s the perfect car for the elderly, but when I see half a dozen other gold Accords on every trip, I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m only 21, it’s not time yet to sell out to the man.

I hope to sell this Honda next summer, and get the MINI as originally planned.